NBA: *** 2024 NBA thread ***

SolterraCyclone

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It’s been a long time now where any team with healthy Kawhi Leonard is a pretty good team and he looked healthy in this one.
If the Nuggets can get the Thunder to 6 I’ll be happy. But I want to just give a second to appreciate Jokic. This is a lottery team without him and they just knocked the second-hottest team in the West out in the first round.

If that guy could get surrounded by real, healthy talent he’d have 3 rings already
 
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cycloneman003

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Clips gonna have to blow up this team.
Agree but apparently Harden will almost certainly be back there. Harden and a rapidly aging Kawhi is a tough combo. Zubac is a nice player as is Powell, but he’s on the last year of his deal. They’ve got work to do, especially since playoff Harden is pretty unreliable.
 

HFCS

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Agree but apparently Harden will almost certainly be back there. Harden and a rapidly aging Kawhi is a tough combo. Zubac is a nice player as is Powell, but he’s on the last year of his deal. They’ve got work to do, especially since playoff Harden is pretty unreliable.

What they got from Harden/Kawhi combined this year at this age is the wildly optimistic best case scenario.
 

SolterraCyclone

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What they got from Harden/Kawhi combined this year at this age is the wildly optimistic best case scenario.
Absolutely brutal trade for them sending SGA and 5! First round picks for Paul George. Just torpedoed that franchise for a decade once they lost to Denver in the bubble
 
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JP4CY

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One of the TNT guys just said Tyrese's game reminds him of John Stockton.
 

HFCS

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One of the TNT guys just said Tyrese's game reminds him of John Stockton.

Totally different physical skills (Stockton was tougher/meaner, Tyrese is way longer) but they are the same in that they mainly want to control pace and flow of offense and any of their own scoring just comes from that.

You could compare Tyrese to a skinny Magic for a more 1:1 of his style of playmaking and running transition basketball, if Magic had played in a later era he'd have been a better outside shooter, it just wasn't a priority of the era.
 

HFCS

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I think this is going to be a very competitive series because Indy has been so good second half of year, it's nuts how much national media sleeps on Indy, it's almost like a law Indy isn't allowed to be on national TV even in playoff games until the second round.

They had major injuries last year when they bounced the Knicks and made ECF, it was like nobody was allowed to mention their injuries and it was Knicks injury talk 24/7. Indy is healthy this year and both these teams are really deep, maybe the best two benches in NBA.
 
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HFCS

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Mitchell REALLY heating up.

It helps that you cannot breath on him without fouling yet the Cavs can hammer Pacers at the rim with no call. 6 point ref swing easily, often on back to back plays called totally different.

Good news is Pacers can hit deep shots which is the only neutralizer for that.

3rd quarter officiating was laughable.
 

JP4CY

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It helps that you cannot breath on him without fouling yet the Cavs can hammer Pacers at the rim with no call. 6 point ref swing easily, often on back to back plays called totally different.

Good news is Pacers can hit deep shots which is the only neutralizer for that.

3rd quarter officiating was laughable.
I even got a kick out of the fans booing an obvious foul on Cleveland.

I don't dislike Cleveland at all, I'm just pro Tyrese.
 
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HFCS

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I even got a kick out of the fans booing an obvious foul on Cleveland.

I don't dislike Cleveland at all, I'm just pro Tyrese.

Yeah it was just typical thing that happens when any arena is going nuts. About a five minute stretch of completely one sided calls. All the fouls on Mitchell were real fouls, just in that five minutes they ignored at least 4 shooting fouls that would have given the Pacers 8 free throws, exact same level of contact.

The only way to combat that is hit outside shots, you can't keep going inside when it's clear the refs are gonna let the home team hammer you with no fouls ever.
 

JP4CY

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Every time the Pacers sit Tyrese, Cleveland makes a run.
 

HFCS

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Cavs got a VERY friendly whistle entire second half and may lose double digits at home. I mean without homer calls this thing is a 20+ pacer win.
 

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